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Ewokese

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This article covers the Canon version of this subject.  Click here for Wookieepedia's article on the Legends version of this subject. 

"Chuug-obo-fangowa!"
―An Ewok speaking Ewokese[src]

Ewokese was the lively language spoken by the furry, diminutive Ewoks who lived on the forest moon of Endor. It was mutually intelligible with the language of the Yuzzum, and contained more than three dozen words for conifers the Ewoks referred to principally as "life trees".[3]

When the Rebel Alliance's strike team came to Endor to destroy the second Death Star's shield generator, the protocol droid C-3PO communicated with the Ewoks using Yuzzum,[3] and managed to translate the Ewokese into Galactic Basic so the Ewok named Wicket was able to guide the Rebels to the Imperial bunker.[1]

The human scavenger Rey learned the language from a salvaged ship computer on Jakku, but had not found an opportunity to use it.[2]

Known phrases[edit | edit source]

  • Alaay loo ta nuv — "Celebrate the love"[4]
  • Coatee-cha tu yub nub! — "Celebrate the freedom!"[5][4]
  • Labu labu? — "How much?"[6]
  • Doh,Doh, Va Doh, Doh![7]
  • Ee chee wa maa! — "Wow!"[5]
  • Chak — "Yes"[source?]
  • Den — "No"[6]
  • Een Et Manay![7]
  • Jub Chaa.[7]
  • Noo Cha Eh![7]
  • Patu Nay![7]
  • Yaa-yaah! — "Greetings!"[5]
  • Yub nub! — "Hooray!",[5] "Freedom"[8][4]

Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]

The Ewokese language first appeared in the 1983 movie Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, the last installment of the original trilogy of Star Wars.[1] It was first identified as "Ewokese" in the Star Wars Legends continuity in the novelization of the film.[9] It was developed by Ben Burtt, sound designer at ILM, and was largely based on Kalmyk Oirat, a dialect spoken by Russians of Kalmyk ethnicity. Burtt decided to make Ewokese based on that language after hearing it in a documentary. He got an 80-year-old Kalmyk woman to speak tales of her people through her native tongue, and then recorded the sounds, with the various actors imitating various portions of the recording.[10] African and South-Pacific languages also influenced Ewokese.[11] In addition, Burtt and actor Anthony Daniels later used and even invented their own terms in the language when doing the scene where C-3PO was reciting the story of the Rebel Alliance's efforts to stop the Empire.[10]

Appearances[edit | edit source]

Sources[edit | edit source]

Notes and references[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars: Complete Locations
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Star Wars Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to a Galaxy Far, Far Away
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Graphic Novel Adaptation
  8. ↑ Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!
  9. ↑ Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi novel
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ben Burtt in the Return of the Jedi commentary
  11. ↑ Star Wars: Behind the Magic
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